CEOs: Minor hiccups on first day at KLIA2
There were some minor hiccups for AirAsia and AirAsia X on their first day at the KL International Airport 2 (KLIA2) today, their respective chief executive officers said.
There were some minor hiccups for AirAsia and AirAsia X on their first day at the KL International Airport 2 (KLIA2) today, their respective chief executive officers said.
At a press conference at the new low-cost airport terminal, AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman Rani (left) said their aircraft arrivals had been smooth, but four out of six of its morning departures had been delayed by an average of 21 minutes per flight due to coordination issues.
However, Azran said, its two afternoon departures were on time, and he believes any issues could be ironed out in a few days.
"I think the biggest challenge was the coordination with the specific parking bays or boarding gates, so these are things we will have to iron out with the airport authorities and among ourselves.
"If we had a bit more time to do more trials, we would have probably reduced this, but I think with experience we will probably address them," he added.
Azran advised passengers to refer to the information displayed electronically on the Flight Information Display Systems rather than on their boarding passes to direct them to the correct boarding gate for departure for the time being, as there may be last-minute changes.
As for AirAsia, its CEO Aireen Omar said the airline's operations at KLIA2 have been "quite smooth" so far, except for some confusion in the issuing of boarding passes.
"It was not damaging or anything major. We were alerted immediately and it was solved almost immediately,” Aireen said.
KLIA2 opened on April 30 to replace the existing Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT), and most other budget airlines moved there by May 2.
However, the largest users of the terminal - AirAsia and its sister airline AirAsia X - only moved in today. LCCT was closed last night.
The two airlines initially refused to move to KLIA2, citing safety concerns at the airport, but relented after International Civil Aviation Organisation consultants conducted a safety audit.
However, with the move, Aireen ( right ) said, there would be an additional charge of about RM3 per passenger departing from KLIA2 to cover the cost of using the airport’s facilities, such as aerobridges and a new check-in system.
"These are things that have been made mandatory for us.
"It was not an option given to us, but in interest of being collaborative and supportive to move here quickly for the May 9 launch, we have no choice but to accept the use of the check-in systems imposed on us by airport authorities," Azran added.
The larger size of the terminal, compared with LCCT, would entail higher operational costs for AirAsia as well, Aireen said, but Azran added that the two airlines hoped to absorb the cost by increasing passenger volume.
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